Joy Paul, 25, loves art. He loves history even more.
His fondness for sculptures, coins and deities was “effortless”, he says, though he suspects that Assassin’s Creed – a video game whose swashbuckling story lines revolve around pivotal moments in history – may have played a part.
So when he got accepted at Delhi College of Art – one of India’s most prestigious art schools – he had high hopes.
But the curriculum turned out to be a “blitzkrieg through centuries of art history with few introductions and half-hearted explanations”.
He was also upset with how dry his textbooks and reference materials were: “The writing was so archaic and unnecessarily complicated that it was hard even for a history geek like me.”
India has one of the world’s richest art histories, spanning centuries and a mélange of forms, styles and inspirations.
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